


Radiant Stars

by cootpancake



Category: Paladins: Champions Of The Realm (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magical Girls, Buck is the token powerless friend that nobody tells him his friend has powers, Io has a tail in her normal form, Lian is the villain but the main underling of Vora, Monster of the Week, Monsters, Prophetic Dreams, Radiant Stars, Skinverse, The Star Sisters, Transformation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-16
Updated: 2020-11-19
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:15:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,264
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25298989
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cootpancake/pseuds/cootpancake
Summary: Io was an ordinary high school girl, her first day of grade 10 however, was off to a strange start. Almost running late to her first day, a weird dream the night before and meeting people she swore she saw in her dream and the mysterious appearance of a talking cat in her bedroom.Little did she know that it was just the beginning of her fight against Evil Queen Lian and her struggle to save Earth, assembling a team of her new found sisters, the power of the stars at their fingertips.
Relationships: There will be a ship which one im not sure yet
Comments: 2
Kudos: 14





	1. Dreaming of Starlight

**Author's Note:**

> So this is gonna be based on the new Radiant Star skins, and Sailor Moon. The girls are gonna be fighting monsters, having prophetic dreams, maybe findin some love, transforming, being fabulous and defeating Evil Queen Lian who just wants to own the galaxy no big deal. All in a fraction of the Sailor Moon run time.
> 
> This is not going to be a super long thing, just enough to meet the team, fight some monsters, develop friendships and defeat the villain. One arc, sweet and simple, we got it?
> 
> [Come find me for memes and shitposting](https://twitter.com/cootpancake)

Feeling her dress billowing in the wind, destruction all around her team. The sky was dark, black clouds swirling over a pink sunset, black and purple claws positioned around another woman''s body. She stood tall on a throne of shadows, the red on her coat standing out against the dark colour, brandishing a rifle in her hand.

There were people standing with her on the ground, in the midst of the ruined town. An array of colours and clothes, formation strong, powerful gale trying to displace their team, but they held secure.

_"I'll crush your pitiful little team beneath my shoe like the vermin you are!"_ The woman cackled, her maniacal grin spreading across her cheeks. 

The dark clouds fluttered, piercing out like spikes and spears, coming right towards her stationary body.

_"Io watch out!"_

_"Io get out of the way!"_

_"Io!"_

"Io!"

Waking with a jump, Io shook off her bed sheets, frantically scanning around the room. Seeing her mother standing next to her bed, hands on her leg after shaking her awake, exasperated look on her face.

"Yeah? What is it?" Io innocently asked, yawning the sleep away as she stepped delicately out of bed and starting to unbutton her pyjamas and reach for her hairbrush.

"Io you're going to be late for school! You need to hurry, you don't want the teachers to see you late on the first day!" Her mother pressed her hands flat on her back pushing her towards where her uniform was laid out over a chair.

"Wait, already!? Oh no! I thought I set an alarm!" Io's slow movements turned frantic, quickly throwing her pyjamas on the floor and pulling on some clean underwear and her uniform. She was adjusting her red tie that stood out against her white shirt, tucked into a knee length navy skirt. She didn't have much time to do her hair, leaving it in the messy blonde twin tails she slept in. Slipping her feet into her brown shoes, as she scrambled down the hallway.

"I made you breakfast but it's a bit late now." Her mum stood behind the kitchen counter, washing dishes in the sink as Io rocketed past the dining table. Grabbing onto a single piece of toast on the plate.

"Thanks mum! But I gotta go! I'll see you after school!" Io popped the toast in her mouth as she reached down for her bag she had packed the night before and left at the front door so she wouldn't forget it. Slinging the brown bag over her shoulder, quickly smoothing over her ears, hair and tail to make sure she wasn't a complete mess and then shooting herself out the front door before slamming it behind herself.

"Have a good- oh, day."

Picking up her feet, she ran across the pathway, she was lucky there weren't many people out on the residential roads or they definitely would have laughed at her. She had already mapped out where she needed to go to get to school a few days prior, running carelessly on the pavement. Losing interest in her toast, having long gone cold from sitting on the table all morning she tossed it to a flock of pigeons on the road.

Skidding around corners she could feel she was about to make it to school, running at almost uncontrollable speeds. This was the last corner then she should be on the home stretch to school, but right as she began to turn she realised there was another person that she was about to run into. Going too fast and already in the motions she couldn't stop or slow down enough to prevent a crash. She scrunched her eyes shut, bracing for impact on this poor unsuspecting stranger.

In less than a second, the stranger turned, quickly sidestepping and as Io tried to skid herself to a stop she didn't realise that there was now nobody in front of her, panicking as she tripped herself over on nothing, falling forward onto her knees, feeling the pavement graze her sensitive skin.

"Ahh... dang... that hurts... today is just not my day." Io sighed to herself, her mood deflating significantly. The stranger stepped in front of her, reaching a hand of help out to her on the ground. She looked up, pristine red tie unlike her own messy one, shirt tucked into navy pants. But what struck her the most was the hair, long and blue framing a strangely familiar face.

"My apologies, I didn't foresee you still falling over even if I stepped out of your way." Ooh, English accent, how nice, Io was nervous, she wasn't prepared to meet someone new so soon, let alone someone so nice. Yet he had this strange familiarity about him, she didn't know why and she couldn't put a finger on it, but she just felt like she had seen him somewhere before.

"Why are you looking at me like that? Is there something on my face?" Asking softly, Io panicked for a moment shaking her head. Reaching up to grasp his hand, being pulled up from the pavement.

"Oh no no! I just... I thought I saw you from somewhere, maybe I'm just imagining stuff. I'm Io by the way, you go to Realm High?" Io nervously rubbed the back of her neck with her free hand, her cheeks turning red at the strange look she got.

"My name is Jenos, yes, I suppose we do go to the same school. I was running a bit late to school, but I'm in no rush, fashionably late I suppose you could call it. We can walk together if you would like." Jenos spoke calmly, even though he was going to be late to school as well, he clearly had no sense of urgency.

"It's good to meet someone new, and yeah it would be nice if we walked together, I don't want to roll into school late alone, y'know?" Io giggled, recomposing herself, before taking one step and hissing with the sting in her knees. Jenos glanced down, seeing her scraped knees peeking out from her skirt.

"When we get to school might you need me to take you to the nurse? You are bleeding." Jenos cast Io a concerned look, she only gave a grin and a laugh in return.

"Nah, I'll be fine, don't want to be later to class than I'm already going to be." Io fiddled with her hands behind her back, shyness creeping up on her. Why couldn't all guys be this nice? Jenos unzipped his bag, reaching in to pull out a packet of baby wipes, offering one to her.

"At least clean yourself up first so you aren't bloody, you'll want to make a good first impression on people who are going to be your classmates for the rest of the year." Jenos gave Io a sympathetic look, she was hesitant at first but she realised she wanted to make some friends and she didn't want people to think she was clumsy when all she had was a little accident. She took one of the wipes in her hand and started wiping the blood off of her knees.

"Thank you, I'm glad it's you I ran into since you're so nice to me."

Io flicked her eyes over to her watch.

"Oh no we have to get going!"

\-----

Flying up the stairs and around the door, she practically jumped into her classroom, breathing out a sigh of relief, she had about a minute to spare.

"Io! You made it! Damn I was scared for a bit, that ya' were gonna bail on the first day." Buck waved her over, Io was glad they were in the same class, he was her best friend from middle school. He patted the seat next to his, pulling his bag off the desk after saving the spot.

"It was a close call, but I made it! Thanks for saving me a seat." Io plopped herself down in the chair, breathing a sigh of relief. It's unfortunate that Jenos wasn't in their class, turns out he's actually year twelve, all the cool people were never in her grade.

"No problem, you're so lucky right now, I tried to text you to see if ya' were comin' but you probably left your phone at home." Buck propped his feet up on his desk, rocking back lazily, closing his eyes.

Io turned her body around, surveying the classroom. She needed to scope out who she was going to try make friends with first, she couldn't just hang around with Buck all year, then people were going to think he was her boyfriend, which he is not, best friend. How do people get that mixed up so often?

When spying around the room, she spotted three girls who looked weirdly familiar, the same feeling she got when she met Jenos this morning. But she had no clue where exactly she had seen them. There was a girl sitting in the far back corner of the class, big fluffy pink hair half pulled into two buns on her head, standing stark against her brown skin and casually chatting to some other girls in the classroom. Another girl with an air of familiarity sat in the front of the class, pale green hair and bangs long enough to cover her eyes, but they were brushed to the side of her face. Sitting a few seats behind her was another girl, so tall she could barely fit in the desk, wavy brown hair pulled into a high ponytail.

Io wasn't sure what it was about these girls, but just looking at them made her feel like she knew them from somewhere.

The bell chimed, startling her out of her thoughts.

\-----

"So, what's the go for lunch? What's our plan?" Buck leaned against his desk as Io packed her things into her bag that was slung over the side of her desk. 

"Okay so I have an idea. We're going to want to make some friends right? So we'll have a challenge, whoever can make the most friends and have met the most people by the end of the day is the winner, and the loser owes them ice cream. You need to remember all their names for it to count, deal?" Io looked up at her friend, a sly grin on her face. Buck pondered it for a moment before nodding.

"Oh you're on, I'm about to friend the crap out of some people." Buck picked up his lunch and sauntered out of the room, leaving Io alone in the classroom. If she wanted to beat Buck at making friends she would need to go where the people were, the cafeteria would be where all the pre-made friend groups were and there would be little chance of her easily slotting into a pre-existing group too easily. She could go visit a club if she wanted, but none of the available clubs really tickled her fancy. Her best option was looking for loners and making a group of her own.

She perused the halls for a bit before stepping outside to the garden, she wanted to talk to at least one of those girls from class. She walked around the school grounds until she spotted that pink haired girl from earlier, tapping away on her phone, not surrounded by people which was surprising. She swallowed her nervousness and slowly approached the girl.

"Hey, uh... my name is Io, mind if I sit next to you, you look lonely." Io brushed her foot tentatively against the floor, not being able to see the dust from the shade of the tree that the bench was placed against.

"As long as you don't mind me bein' on my phone then sure honey, go for it. Name's Imani, don't wear it out." Imani looked up, her pink hair bouncing behind her head like a cloud. Io sat down next to her, smiling knowing she had a good chance at making a friend here.

"What're you sitting all the way out here for?" Io looked to Imani inquisitively, she looked up from her phone, slipping it into her bag as she leaned backwards on the bench.

"Teachers don't really come round this part of tha' school, I'd be done in if one of 'em caught me using my phone. I knew some people who went to this school and that's the one bit of advice they gave me, if you wanna use your phone without any teachers catchin' you, come round here." Imani smirked, it was as if she was satisfied knowing that she was getting away with breaking one of the rules, albeit a small one.

"Oh, I suppose that is some pretty good advice. So... do you know any other people at this school?" Io twiddled her hands in her lap, letting Imani think for a moment before she sat up straight.

"Yeah, few girls from middle school, but I feel like I gotta branch out, wanna have good friend options all around me. How about you?" Imani's voice was smooth like butter, deep and yet wonderfully feminine. The sound gave her a feeling of friendliness and home. Oh wait she redirected the question.

"Only this one boy, he was my middle school best friend, and no, before you say, he's just my friend, not my boyfriend." Io went flushed, but not too much. She huffed after speaking, she hated it when people just assumed Buck was her boyfriend.

"Girl I understand where you are comin' from! I was best friend with this guy in middle school too, and everybody wouldn't shut up about how we were a 'power couple' or somethin' silly like that. He doesn't go to this school sadly, but I still message him. Anyways, on the topic of boyfriends, we're about half way through our first day, seen anybody you might shoot your shot with?" Imani grinned, her tone teasing, Io's face went red even though she hadn't really thought of a response to that.

"Well... I, uh... I don't think I've seen enough people to fairly say but maybe one of them was really cute... I wouldn't mind 'shooting my shot' with him maybe one day... I don't know! You put me on the spot here." Io fumbled nervously on her words, her face exploding into crimson.

"My bad, my bad. Don't suppose you wouldn't mind sharing who it is?" Imani averted her gaze, before fully redirecting herself back to her question. Io stuttered, stressing out.

The lunch bell chimed, and Io sighed, Imani was fun, but she was a whole lot.

"Boo... guess we gotta head back to class, let's go back together."

\------

"So, Buck, do you think you did good? I'll bet you're gonna be coughing up my ice cream by next week!" Io playfully taunted, Buck smirked, the two were fairly positive they had both won. They were walking out of the school gates, they lived on the same street so they got to walk home together.

"Hate to say this Io but I did pretty damn good." Buck taunted in return, poking his tongue out to the girl below him and she poked hers out in response.

"Are you sure, because I don't think that's true. Well then, if you don't mind going first, remember names for it to count."

"Okay so, at the forced partner thing this morning, I met Tyra, yeah? She offered to introduce me to her friends that were on track team, and I met Viktor, Strix and Kinessa. I left them in the middle of lunch since I had to go to the bathroom and while I was walkin' around the school I hear somethin' coming from the music club's room so I went to check it out. Turns out it was a band in the music club that was just jamming out with some like indie style music. I got to watch for a bit and once they were done I went and talked to the singer. So I met Koga, he played guitar and sang, Zhin was second guitar, Sha Lin played their keyboard and Skye did their drums. He was a cool dude and said they were looking for a bass player, and y'know how I took bass since like year 6? So I was thinking about doin' that. They're called The Thousand Hands, it's really cool."

Oh god damn that's a lot of people, and he even has an idea for a club already?

"I think it's safe to say you won, but only this time! I'm not losing our next challenge."

"I'll be lookin' forward to my ice cream."

\-----

Io unlocked the door to her house, her mum was still at work for another hour so she had the house to herself before she got back. She slipped her shoes off at the front door and dropped her bag down next to them. Loosening her tie as she started walking to her room. 

That's weird, the door is closed. She swore it was open when she left the house and her mum goes by the rules that she doesn't go into Io's room unless she has permission or if it's an emergency, privacy as a teenage girl and all that. Fiddling with the door knob she hesitantly opened the door, stopping in her tracks when she saw a big fluffy cat lazing around on her bed, breathing and blinking.

"Did mum leave one of the windows open again? I'll help you outside kitty."

"That won't be necessary, but thank you for offering!"

If Io was allowed to swear she would've definitely shouted 'what the fuck'.

Io inhaled a big breath, getting ready to scream.

"Please don't freak out!"

Io stopped.

"I'm meant to be here! My name is MewMew and I've come to help you fulfill your destiny!" MewMew bounced up from the bed, thick coat of purple fur shifting with every step. Sitting on the floor at Io's feet.

"My... destiny? I have one of those?" Io slowly put her loose tie down on her bedside table, sitting down on her bed to look at MewMew with suspicious eyes.

"Yes! I've seen it! It's written in the stars, I was sent to find the four who would protect the planet from Evil Queen Lian's reign of terror!" MewMew jumped back up onto the bed, her high pitched voice almost piercing Io's ears, but she could live with it.

"Someone sent you here?"

"Yes, and I was sent to help keep everyone safe. So! What do you say! Are you gonna help?" MewMew rolled onto her side, looking up at Io with doe eyes, she knew there wasn't a choice here, if this was her 'destiny', she wouldn't really get a choice.

"Okay, I'll help you. But you gotta help me understand what I'm meant to be doing." Io was puzzled, there was no way this was real, was this some kind of trick? Social experiment? Where were the cameras? MewMew flicked her big tail a few times, flipping a shiny jeweled trinket in Io's direction.

"Well then, let's practice! Stand up, hold the jewel up high above your head and yell out 'shining starlight power!'" MewMew grinned, watching Io stand up, grasping the sparkling trinket in her hand, golden moon with a big purple gem.

"Okay then... here goes nothing..." Io stood in the middle of her room, she was embarrassed doing this stuff in private, but really how illegitimate could it be considering the cat was talking? If this was some elaborate trick she would feel like the worlds biggest fool. She raised the trinket high above her head, taking in a slow deep breath.

_"Shining Starlight Power!"_

Io paused for a moment and she felt like she was floating, her feet brushing off the floor. She felt airy and dainty like a piece of drifting cloth. She couldn't see much, only purple sparkles really, like someone had gone and dumped glitter on her head. But she felt warm, embraced, and soft. Something was wrapping around her, she couldn't see much but it felt like clothes which is strange because this is definitely not the way you put on clothes.

Wait she was holding something now, this was all too confusing. The glitter died down, her body floating daintily back onto the ground. She scanned across herself for a moment realising she had gone through the world's fastest makeover. Her sparkly purple dress replaced her school uniform, piled high with laces, a petticoat and sheer fabric.

Hold on she was holding a bow. She is not looking to hurt anybody!

"Okay hold on for me! But... what the heck is going on! I don't understand! Why do I have a weapon!? Am I going to hurt someone!?" Io panicked in her bedroom, frantically pacing back and forth while waving her bow around.

"How about we go outside and look for a monster to test your powers on? You don't want to test them in here, you might destroy your stuff. I'm sure now that your destiny is set in motion, there's gotta be some monsters we can go and fight!" MewMew nudged the bedroom door open with her face, swaying down the hallway, Io following behind.

"Okay then, sounds good. From now on I'll be Stellar Protector Io!"


	2. Stop Right There Monster!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Io and MewMew go searching around the streets and buildings to try and find any monsters to fight and Io gives her first battle her best shot.
> 
> But who is this masked man that came to save her? Why is he so familiar?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Sorry this one isn't as long don't expect chapters to be super long like the first, I just had to fit all our exposition into one chapter)
> 
> [My twitter @cootpancake hmu for a fun paladinos flavour time](https://twitter.com/cootpancake)

Strolling around the streets, Io's heart pounded in her chest, sweating beading on her forehead. Was she really about to go fight a monster? This was really scary! She wasn't sure if she could do it, she had no clue how her powers worked! Let alone what they were supposed to do in the first place.

"We need to be quick about this MewMew! I don't want my mum to get home and find I'm not there!" Io stressed out, they had been perusing the streets for about 10 minutes, soaring above the houses looking to spot something. They were going closer into the city area, hoping they would be able to find a monster for Io to beat up.

"We'll be fine, the city might have one! It's pretty big after all." MewMew floated next to Io as she drifted above the buildings, making it to the city and avoiding every shocked stare she got from the people on the ground.

"Oh! I can feel something! We must be getting close!" MewMew happily chirped, the strange feeling of darkness ran over her fur. Meaning they were getting close a monster nearby, hiding somewhere in the quaint city

Io kept moving, keeping an eye out for what MewMew was feeling. Looking above the trees to see a peculiar object peaking out above a set of big buildings, she switched direction, moving towards the strange anomaly she could spot. She landed softly on top of an office building, looking down to see a strange deformed shadowy monster terrorising people on the street.

"What are you waiting for?! Go down and fight!" MewMew bounced next to her, seeing as Io was just watching on the scene and not taking part. Stressing out slowly as Io felt fear overcome herself, body quivering.

"I don't know how to use my powers! This bow doesn't even have a string on it!" Io shook her hands back and forth, hopping back and forth on her feet to attempt to calm her nerves. Her face looking shaken as she watched down on the terror on the civilians.

"Take hold of the light! The power to succeed here is within your grasp, you just have to try! Now get out there and kick some monster butt! Don't forget to look fabulous while doing so!" MewMew leapt forward from behind Io, pushing her off the building to plummet to the street, quickly straightening herself out in a panicked flurry. Her poor entrance would have given her negative style points if she was being graded on this.

The shadow monster turned, it looked like a malformed piece of black chewing gum. Io had no clue what MewMew meant by 'take hold of the light', that made no sense and now she couldn't ask, the cat watching closely from atop the building. The monster approached her shaking form, nervously holding the bow in cold hands.

"Come on Io! Don't give up now! The light of the bow! Grab it for goodness sake!" MewMew paced back and forth on the building, Io looked up, her body quivering. She shifted her position, no longer clutching the bow against her chest and maneuvering it into a comfortable pose. She quickly tapped and tinkered with the bow until she felt something tighten. The light around the embedded crystals followed the movement of her fingers, being drawn in the direction she pulled.

Holding the bow up high, Io holds in a huge breath, scrunching her eyes shut as she released her hand, feeling the tension fly from her fingers. Watching light slingshot from her bow, impacting the monster with a pulsating glow. Shocking backwards and stuttering, Io whipped her eyes open, smiling when she realised she got in a good hit. Bouncing up and down a few times to celebrate her mini victory of figuring out how her weapon worked.

"That's it! Keep it up Io!"

With MewMew as her cheerleader, Io felt a wave of adrenaline wash over her. She was already aware of her newfound agility and was ready to properly get involved in the fight. She leapt up above the monster, pulling back a few more shots from her light bow. Using her speed to bounce from building to building, confusing the monster as it tried to keep up with her, far too slow to track her movements.

Her shots kept piercing the monster, chipping away at the shadowy limbs. Her ego boosting when she saw it struggle against her attacks, jumping between lampposts and street signs. She knew the monster was getting weaker, but she was nervous, she was a newbie there was no way this could be so easy for her? What's the catch?

The monster gurgled, it's disgusting noise causing its body to shift grotesquely as it stopped moving. Io touched down onto the ground, suspiciously eyeing the growing monster as it expanding as if it was a balloon filling with air. Dread filled her body, her ears falling flat against her head as she realised that all the wounds she had inflicted were slowly being healed over.

"Io don't let your guard down! Keep attacking!"

Io's legs started quivering, the monster having doubled in size. The few people that stayed by to watch had long since retreated, leaving Io and MewMew alone at the street. The monster towered over the stellar protector, she swallowed thickly in her throat, her legs buckling underneath herself as she fell to her knees on the road. She dropped her bow in fear, staring shakily as the monster slowly approached her.

The sun had long since set, her mother was probably worried sick about her, even though her bag, shoes and tie were at home. Io couldn't find the courage to grab her bow to continue fighting, it was horrifying watching the monster slowly slink towards her, all the anime she watches makes it seem way easier than it actually is to just go out and fight a monster for the first time.

Swallowing down one last time, Io scrunched her eyes shut as she felt the monster's shadow tower over her. Her heart beat a thousand times a second, bracing her body for impact, eyes stinging with tears as she accepted her death. Waiting on the road for the monster to-

_"Step into the light!"_

Huh? What was happening?

_"And perish!"_

Io cracked her eyes open, light flashing like a thunderbolt before her eyes. A hole burned through the centre of the monster, plummeting forward onto the asphalt. Io looked out above the intersection, spotting another figure standing above her on a building. MewMew looked just as surprised.

"Goodness MewMew I thought when you said you had finally envisioned the chosen ones I thought you implied that these 'chosen ones' had any semblance of skill, quite embarrassing. We've waited so many years and this is what we get?" The figure's voice was sultry and smooth, Io swore she had heard it before but she just for some reason couldn't put her finger on it. Jeez she was having the worst deja vu recently.

"Hey! Give her a chance she only just got her powers! She needs to learn first! If she didn't have potential she wouldn't have been chosen!" MewMew stressed, panicking on the building, her voice strained as she defended her knowledge. It was foretold that when all was set in motion, MewMew would receive visions of the team chosen to defeat Evil Queen Lian and stop her taking over the galaxy.

"How long will you tell us to wait? Monsters roam the streets now, we haven't a moment to lose." Flicking his cape over his body, he turned and started sashaying away, ignoring Io as she sat on the street. Said fox was quite upset she was being so heavily judged on her first job.

"Jeez MewMew, what's his deal?" Io stood up, brushing her skirt as she stood up. She huffed as she thought back to the snarky nature of the man that had come and saved her. MewMew gracefully descended from the top of the building, standing next to Io.

"That's Gentleman, I know you've gotten off on the wrong foot but he means well. His parents died trying to take down Evil Queen Lian, but he's been forbid from ever getting involved until the special ones were there to take on their destinies of defeating her. You are one of them, so now that you've shown up he's going to be impatient. He just needs time to understand that the team will most likely all be novices." MewMew sat still, her voice almost melancholic talking about him. Io was conflicted about this guy, on one hand he criticised her even though she clearly had no experience but on the other hand he saved her life.

"I suppose, guess I'll just have to get stronger. I won't be able to disappoint then... wait a minute... it's already dark out! My mum's going to be worried sick!" Io pulled herself off the ground, quickly zooming off above the city to race back home.

"Io, just make sure, when you get home, nobody is allowed to know your identity, to keep you safe from Lian's allies."

"Yeah I'll be fine."

\----

Slinking out of an alley near her house, transforming back into her shirt and skirt away from any possible eyes. She ran down the sidewalk, transformation trinket clutched in her hands. She rounded a corner to spot Buck standing outside her front door holding his phone and looking concernedly out at the street. He spotted Io, heaving a big sigh of relief as he ran a hand across his forehead.

"Buck! What are you here for?" Io trotted up to her house where Buck stood, hiding her trinket behind her back.

"Your mum called me sayin' you had disappeared! I've been keepin' a lookout and she's out on a drive, in case you were further away from the local area. I'll call her tellin' her that you're back." Buck pulled his phone up to his ear, Io retreating into the door, she needed a nap, she'd had enough for one day.

\----

"My lady, it's time, the first star soldier has been uncovered." Kneeling before the large throne, Khan bent a knee to the serving overlord as she feigned interest in her nails.

"Of course those nuisances have started moving as soon as _I_ want to, but this is just the beginning of our arsenal of darkness." Lian mused, she had nothing to worry about. Many planets had been crushed on her rampage, Earth would be no different.

"Correct my lady, crushing them is but an easy feat for you."

"The cat's fur would make a perfect new coat of mine."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Io returns to school and has to keep her secret from others even when she's all over the news! She doesn't like keeping secrets from her best friend. And what's the deal with Jenos? Why is he acting weird?
> 
> MewMew tells Io they should look for the next chosen one, and she's a lot closer than they think.


	3. Friends Old And New

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Io finally gets to have a good school day! But why is Jenos acting weird? It's only been one day what could have possibly happened? Io makes a new friend, she seems nice.
> 
> We need the next Star Sister and she might be closer than we thought...

Sitting down at the dining table, Io got to finally eat proper hot breakfast. Having properly set an alarm the night before so she wouldn’t be late for school. Shoveling food into her face with no hesitation, her uniform on properly and her bag packed and waiting at the front door. Happily swinging her legs on the chair as she tinkered around with her phone.

"I'll be out until around nine tonight Io, my coworkers are all going out for a couple drinks, there's leftover dinner in the fridge for when you're hungry." 

"Mm- ohkay."

"Io don't speak with your mouth full."

\---

Stepping out the front door, seeing other students in the Realm High uniform walking on the streets, quite pleased with her self knowing she wasn't late. She promised to meet up with Buck on the corner so she adjusted her skirt and went off happily trotting down the sidewalk, neat blonde twin tails bouncing behind her.

"Hey! I told you I wouldn't be late today!" Io hopped up to the corner, swaying next to her best friend. Buck laughed, playfully punching Io's arm, which she responded with her own.

"Thank god for that, I wasn' tryna go into school by myself and look like a total loser." Buck joked, starting to walk down the path with Io following right next to him. It felt good to just be casually walking to school with a friend, if this was the start of her first day she'd be looking forward to an amazing year but all she could think about was how awful yesterday was and that everything was confusing.

"Yeah I felt that yesterday, not fun to come flying in the classroom alone."

Trotting down the street calmly, Io let herself be enveloped in the morning air. She glanced up to another street corner for a moment before seeing a familiar head of blue hair.

"Hey! Over here!" Io waved over, Jenos turning his head and smiling. There was a moment where the duo walked up to the other boy that his eyes widened, stunned into silence as he swallowed thick in his throat.

"Oh you don't know him do you? Buck, this is Jenos. He's a couple years above us but he's super nice, so get along with him good!" Io bounced, her cheeks going red after realising she had so nonchalantly given Jenos compliments. Buck nodded.

"Alright, name noted. It's good to meet you my man." Buck waved slightly, Jenos politely waving back before averting his gaze to the pavement.

"Do you want to walk with us to school? Since you don't seem to be late either today, you should tag along." Io innocently asked, her voice inquisitive. Jenos looked nervous, sweat beading on his forehead.

"No... go on without me, I'll walk at my own pace. Thank you for offering though." Jenos almost stuttered, but he held his voice to avoid any suspicion or questions. Io shrugged it off, ignoring the nervous signs.

"Okay, maybe another day then, we did already walk together yesterday." Io and Buck waved him off, Jenos stood, when their gazes were turned away he heaved a sigh. He ran a hand along his forehead, wiping away the sweat.

"There's absolutely no way... she can't be..." Jenos ran a hand through his hair, sweat beading on his forehead.

\---

Sitting down at her desk, Io felt her transformation trinket from inside her bag, buzzing back and forth. Since it was only homeroom she had a few minutes, reaching into her bag and holding the jewel inside so nobody saw her strange glowing object.

"Io! Hello! I can talk to you through here!" MewMew's voice chirped from through Io's trinket, who shushed her and placed the object further down in the bag as to conceal more of the purple light.

"Yes I can tell! What is it?" Io frantically shushed the cat, hiding her surprise as best as she could since her classmates were already looking at her strangely for staring oddly into her bag on the desk. She awkwardly swayed her legs back and forth to try and calm her nerves.

"I feel something, it feels like another chosen one. They are close by, like super close! So keep an eye out for anything suspicious okay?"

"Don't worry I'll be watching! Now go, everyone's looking at me funny." Io shoved the trinket back into her bag, zipping it closed in a frantic hurry. Her face beet red while she sat with her hands in her lap nervously twiddling her thumbs, waiting for her classmates to turn their gazes away from her.

"What the heck were you doin'? You wouldn' be so nervous if you were just usin' your phone." Buck leaned over to Io's desk, looking suspiciously at her bag as his friend swallowed thickly, sweat staining her now red face.

"Oh no it was just the person I was talking to on the phone, you know?" Io started bouncing her leg in nervousness, she wanted the conversation to end so badly since she felt like she was about to explode, red faced and losing her breath to fear.

"Oh, uh... okay? Yeah but who though?" Buck leaned further over, practically in Io's face as she sweat bullets. Her breathing erratic and face still deep crimson, averting her eyes anywhere but her best friend.

"No, no, it's nobody important! Please stop asking." Io moved her face to look at her lap, hiding her red cheeks and sweaty face. Buck sat back in his chair, giving her a suspicious side eye.

"Fine, just remember that we promised not to keep stuff from each other. So if I find out later that it was somethin' super important..." Buck propped his legs up on the desk, concern etched in his voice, crossing his arms over his chest, slightly upset that Io was hiding something from him. Io felt slightly guilty, her ears going flat against her head as she felt like she should've told Buck what was going on but she promised MewMew she wouldn't tell a soul unless it was a team member.

\---

Moseying out of the classroom with her lunchbox, Io perused the back of the school grounds looking for her new friend. She only had a vague idea of where the bench was. She had left her transformation trinket in the classroom, glad to be rid of MewMew, even if it was only for a little while.

Oh, Imani wasn't there. Someone else was there. Her brown hair tied into a high ponytail, bouncing one of her legs up and down and playing with her thumbs in her lap. Io saw no reason to not approach and still sit on the bench.

"Hey! Mind if I sit next to you? My name is Io." Io politely walked up to the girl, her exasperated face turning to calmness, clearing her throat and nodding.

"I don't mind, it would be good to have some company actually. My name's Inara." The girl stopped bouncing her leg, averting her eyes to Io in an attempt to concentrate and stay composed.

"You look troubled, do you want to talk about it?" Io asked with concern, Inara stopped, taking a deep breath as she tried to calm her self down.

"Yeah, it would be nice. It's just... track and field has their tryouts today after school and when I was signing my name up for javelin tryouts this morning I just felt really intimidated by some of them. Really tall with lots of muscle and whatnot, so I'm hoping I get a stroke of good luck on my side, I don't want to have a weak throw and make a fool of myself in front of everyone..." Inara calmed down considerably after her rant, the heavy feeling in her shoulders finally lifting as she sighed heavily.

"I think that as long as you have the motivation and heart to do something, you can go almost anywhere! Having the strength to try is all you need, because in the end, even if you fail, the success will feel even sweeter. Here, have my number, and text me after to tell me what happens!" Io fished a pen out from her pocket, scribbling down her phone number on a napkin from her lunchbox, handing it to Inara with a smile.

"Oh, thank you. I'll make sure to, I've got hopes."

"Yeah?"

"I've got heart."

"Yeah?!"

"So that means I can do it!"

"Yeah it does!"

\---

Shutting her locker, pulling her bag over her shoulder. She needed to apologise to Buck, he didn't talk to her for the rest of the day and rightfully so. Walking over to where Buck's locker was, intent to apologise so they could walk home together.

Oh, he was already leaving with those band kids. She could always text him when she got home and then apologise tomorrow. But she needed someone to walk with so she didn't look super lonely. That's right, she could go ask Imani!

"Hey, Imani, do you want to walk home together?" Io slowly stepped up to Imani at her locker, she turned with a smile on her face.

"Sure, but I wanted to go into the city for ice cream today, you wanna come with?" Imani turned, fastening her bag on her shoulder. Io thought for a second, well her mum would be out late tonight so it wouldn't hurt anyone if she went into the city and got home before her mum got back.

"Alright, sounds fun!" Io perked up, standing by Imani as they wandered out of the school building.

\---

A frozen feeling touched the tip of Io's gums, freezing over her entire mouth and head. Brain freeze was never fun, she put a hand to the side of her head, trying to make the coldness pass. Imani laughed at her lightly from her seat, setting her ice cream down on the table.

"Nothing this delicious has any right to hurt me as much as it does, at least I'm not lactose intolerant, that would be adding insult to injury." Io joked, a small grin tweaking up from her mouth, a smidgen of ice cream on her lip.

"So good yet so bad, what a combo." Imani chuckled, reaching forward with her thumb to swipe the ice cream off Io's lip. She giggled nervously in response.

Sitting quietly for a few extra moments, the afternoon sun, a quiet table on the outskirts of the city with ice cream and a new friend. Couldn't get better than this. Io's brain phased out for a moment only to phase back in when she realised there were people running past them, screaming and frantically pushing against each other. Imani quickly jumped up from her seat, looking around.

"This same thing happened yesterday! What the hell is goin' on! This was all over twitter yesterday and it was mad! We have to get out of here- wait where are you going?!" Imani reached to grab Io's wrist so they could run away together, but said girl had already gotten up from her seat and started running further into the city, ducking into an alleyway. A loud roar blew out over the sky.

Io stood with her back against the wall in the alley, fishing out her transformation trinket from her bag. Inhaling a shaky breath as she put her bag down on the floor.

_'Shining Starlight Power!'_

Letting herself be swept up in sparkles once more, she let herself unfold, glitter taking hold of her body.

\---

Running across the rooftops, swearing she heard a monster like roar coming from within the city, holding her bow close to her, promising she would do better. MewMew ran alongside her, having appeared after her transformation. Seeing rubble and clouds of dust fly up from further in the city. Stepping up to the building's edge with her bow in hand, ready to make a better impression on these monsters.

"Alright Io, yesterday was just a practice run, let's get them good this time!" MewMew cheered, Io dropped down to the street side, landing on her feet. Taking slow nervous breaths she lined up her shot, grabbing onto her ethereal feeling and letting go, letting light slingshot out from her fingertips and impacting the grotesque shadowy creature.

"Io, remember! Giving the monster down time is what tripped you up last time, you need to just keep shooting until it goes down!" MewMew hollered, Io looked up to the building, nodding towards the cat. Gliding up and through the air, attaching herself to a building wall, shooting her bow with no hesitation.

Running down the roads, Imani thundered through the panicking crowds, she wasn't about to leave her new friend by herself after running into the city. Even though the rational part of her brain told her this was dangerous, every bone in her body screamed out to go and investigate. She couldn't just leave when danger was looming.

She rounded a corner, her shoes skidding along the ground. Imani froze, the huge monster towered above the city buildings, a very familiar girl bouncing between buildings and lampposts. She couldn't move, something in her kept her feet planted on the roadside. The girl turned her head, eyes widening when she spotted Imani.

"I-Imani!? Is that you?! Wait! No! You didn't here that! Ignore it! Just get out of- Ack!" Io hadn't realised she accidentally exposed herself until it was too late, for the few seconds she let her guard down the monster slammed a hand into her stomach, sending her crashing too the floor. 

MewMew watched Io plummet to the concrete, panicking as she watched the monster slowly approach her fallen body. She turned her gaze to Imani, standing frozen on the road. In a moment of remembrance, MewMew had a flash, that's right she was looking for more Star Sisters.

Wait, that was a Star Sister! She was sure of it! 

"Hey! You down there! You want to help Io, right?" MewMew hopped down from the building and onto the street, startling Imani with her talking self.

"W-what the hell? This cat is talkin' to me?!"

"Do you want to help or not?!"

"I- well, of course I do! What can I do to help?"

Jumping up, MewMew flicked her tail, whipping a pink trinket into Imani's hands.

"Hold that up high above your head, and yell out 'Shining Starlight Power'!

"Are you sure?"

"Very sure! Times wasting away and Io needs your help!"

"Okay then... here goes nothin'...

_Shinin' Starlight Power!"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Imani gets to fight for the first time, testing out her hot and cool new powers. MewMew is glad she's finally assembling a team, finally it's coming together!


	4. Icy Hot: The Stellar Sorceress

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Imani gets to give her new powers a go, helping out Io when she needs it! MewMew is glad they are finally assembling a team.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hate writing fight scenes that's why this one is so short sorry dudes

_"Shinin' Starlight Power!"_

Imani's body was swept up by colour, her vision being covered as she felt as if she was floating through zero gravity. Her skin tingling with a slight burn, fizzing from the hair on her head to the tips of her toes. She felt brightness and strength fill her body, swelling up inside her like a raging inferno, burning out from within her onto her skin. 

It wasn't until she realised she was almost naked did she start panicking, but she felt fabric chill her body, the wrapping of the seams to her figure. Her body lighter than air and head clearing.

Her feet flopping back down on the ground, shaking off the strange feeling, she raked her eyes over herself. Sparkling layers and a high collar, fabric falling beside her thighs, giving her legs plenty of breathing room. Her fingers crackled with heat, yet they also felt ice cold, the feeling of when your skin is really hot and you run it under cold water.

She glanced up back to the street, her eyes locking in on the monster as she flicked her gaze to and from MewMew, waiting for some kind of help or instruction.

"Well? Go do something! I'm sure you'll get it!" MewMew chirped out, bouncing up and down. Imani nodded, swallowing nervously as she stepped forward, flexing her fingers at her side.

"Alright here goes." Imani took in a deep breath, she just had to follow what her heart thought was right? Seemed simple enough.

With the fanfare out of the way, she rubbed her hands together, letting energy wisp at her fingertips, she sprawled her hands out forward, feeling fire escape from her gloves. Spiraling out in front of her in waves of heat, scorching the monster.

"Imani?! Y-you- and I-"

"Save it, I think right now there are more pressin' matters to attend to."

The monster gurgled, vibrations rattling the ground and shaking the buildings. Imani steadied her breathing, accepting her situation that no amount of comics or television could have prepared her for. Io jumped up beside her, positioning herself on a lamppost, pulling back her bow for more shots. Imani couldn't just stand by and let Io do all the work, so she tried to fix her mind into that same energy she had when she shot the fire. Not knowing how she did it, or how her body knew to do it at all.

Fixing a stance in the street, she braced her body as she shot her hands out again, ice erupting in cascades of blue from her fingers, locking the monster to the ground. Perking up once she realised it was completely immobilised. She let her fingers charge again, letting consecutive shots of ice pierce through the shadowy form and break into shards on the road. She picked herself up, using her fire to blast herself upwards, using her height to blast streams of hot fire onto the monsters head.

Io joined in, following the fire up with her own shots as she evaded the monster as to distract it from Imani with her own agility. The monster fell backwards, slamming into the road, the shadows crackling and flaring upwards in a last ditch effort to regenerate. With on last light blast to the face, the monster went still, the two girls hopped down onto the monster's body, standing on top to check if it was still moving.

"Did we do it? For real did we do it?!" Io bounced up beside Imani, who looked equally as shocked yet excited as Io was. Her heart was pounding in her chest as the aftereffects of her power were fizzing back through her body, icy hot and prickling fire underneath her skin.

"Holy... wow, that was intense. But it gave me that rush, y'know? Feels good." Imani shook her hands, trying to wisp the nerves out from her body as sweat dripped on her forehead. She stepped back and forth, wearing off her adrenaline. 

"I don't know if you know, but my first go at fighting a monster I failed miserably. Needed some weird magic guy to save me, but now that you're here we did it! It's like we're meant to be a team or something." Io peered inquisitively at the fallen monster, the shadows starting to disintegrate into nothing, evaporating into the air.

"Hmm, I was always hopin' for a bit of excitement in my life. Maybe this is it..."

"Of course it is! It is your destiny to be a vessel of the stars! The Stellar Sorceress! I saw it all and it was meant to be that you came here!" MewMew plopped down beside the girls, the monster's body now disintegrated. Imani looked down, clearing her throat a few times.

"You mind tellin' me why the cat talks?" Imani pointed down at MewMew.

"Oh, that's just MewMew, don't mind her she's like our little mascot, you know in all those shows? Yeah that's her." Io stated, watching as MewMew's jaw dropped at what she believed was an insult.

"Excuse you! I'm more than just a mascot, I am a sparkling stellar soul that shines in the starlight!" MewMew hopped around.

"Too much alliteration make it stop."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A few days have gone by and Io and Imani are eagerly waiting for the next monster, Inara finally texts Io now that the track results are back in. Io reconciles with Buck and they go back to normal, or as normal as normal can be.
> 
> Who's that on the bench? So quiet, yet so insightful!


	5. The Starting Line: Truth Hits Harder Than Javelin!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Inara, Io and Imani finally get to check the track team results! But what is going on? Something doesn't feel right...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all are probs surprised so here is a quick rundown of the situation:
> 
> -I rlly did not work on this i take that L
> 
> -yes lian has been written as the villain, so I have decided that lian and khan work directly under vora. Like how the main villain will have an underling who does the work for them up until the very end when they show up
> 
> Ok that is all thank you very much follow me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/cootpancake) for some funsies

_"Defensive procedures have been put in place to combat this cities ever present monster problem, police and military have been dispatched to the area and yet researchers say that without the help of the strange new colourful heroes, no amount of weaponry will ever be enough. And now, the weather."_

Io shut the television off, pleased with the morning news before school, giddy knowing she was getting some recognition. She finished off the piece of toast in her hand, brushing the crumbs off her uniform onto the floor without a second thought. 

It was strange though, there had been no sign of any monster for a few days which was putting Io and Imani on edge. MewMew warned that it might be because the dark army is preparing a strong attack now that there are two stellar guardians. 

Getting up from the couch Io grabbed her school bag from the table, walking outside to door. She left a bit earlier, hoping to catch Buck going down the street since she knew they still weren't on the best terms. She had texted him before but she had only been left on read, so if she apologised in real life he'd have to respond. 

Out on the sidewalk Io spotted Buck at the corner. As to not chase him away she walked up slowly, apologetic look on her face.

"Hey, uh... I wanted to apologise, y'know... I didn't mean to keep stuff from you, it was just private stuff. Forgive me?" Io swayed nervously side to side, avoiding any eye contact and instead staring straight down at the sidewalk.

"Yeah, I forgive you. I can't stay mad at you. Just uh, if it's somethin' super important that I should probably know, that might put you or me in danger or anythin', just tell me okay? I won't tell anybody if it's a secret."

_Wait does he know?_

_Does he know I know that he might know?_

_Who told him? Was it a lucky guess?_

_I'm probably just reading too much into this it's probably just the way he worded the sentence I need to stop being so paranoid. Not like I can stop him if he finds out on his own anyway._

_Oh but MewMew would kill me._

"Y'know just with all these monsters runnin' around the place I just wanna make sure you're safe and not gettin' hurt."

_He definitely knows._

_Maybe not the whole truth but definitely something._

_How do I found out if he knows without actually telling him the truth? Damn that sounds bad out loud I don't like lying._

"Oh, you've been watching the news too? I was watching this morning and it was pretty cool, but I bet it was scary for the people there."

"Yeah uh, those magical girls in our city look just like ones from those shows."

"They do a lot of hard work, I bet it's scary for them but it's so cool how they can just keep fighting! I wish I was like-"

"Io."

"Mhm?"

"I need ya' to tell me the truth."

"But I have nothing to say? Why would I hide something from you?"

"It's just..."

~~

He had stood outside the doorway of the school, having waited for every other student to leave. Jenos had specifically asked for there to be nobody around when they talked, since it was something nobody else was allowed to hear.

"So ya' wanted to talk? I still think it's a bit weird ya' didn't want anyone around..." Buck nervously rubbed the back of his neck, he could feel Jenos' blue gaze piercing right through him.

"I wanted to warn you, be careful of Io, if the wrong people found out you were the one closest to her, you would become a pawn in their game. Stay safe." Jenos stood still, only staring, he turned and started walking on the school path, towards the gates.

"Wait what?! What do ya' mean?! I don't understand!"

"If you are smart then in due time you will find out, but shadows are looming, and if she or myself cannot protect you, then you must protect yourself"

~~

"Ya' talk to him sometimes, I need to know what he meant."

"But I- I'm not- I don't"

Buck fished his phone out of his bag, swiping a few times before putting the phone up to Io's face. The image on the screen was from a news article, an action shot of two bedazzled heroines, wow that seemed familiar perhaps Io was there a few days ago.

"That's you, I know it is." Buck pointed to a girl on the screen, blonde twin tails and puffed purple dress.

"No! I swear it's not me! When Jenos talked to you the other day he probably got us confused because I swear it isn't me!"

_This feels awful._

_Would MewMew be upset if I told him the truth?_

_Probably._

_But what about what I feel?_

_Because I feel horrible._

Buck sighed, he lowered his hand, his face fell with disappointment. He just started walking off down the street, Io following quietly by his side. They didn't say anything else, but Io could practically feel the distrust currently between them.

_I never did ask Buck why Jenos would say that to him… What is his deal lately?_

\---

Sitting down at her desk, Io sighed, her head leaning on her arms at the desk, face pressed against the hard wood. She felt no drive to be in the classroom anyway, her mood having deflated significantly from her earlier escapade.

She wallowed in her own unfortunate circumstances only for a few more seconds, someone trotted happily up to her desk, slamming their hands down on the wood.

"Io! The last track and field trials were yesterday so we are getting the results for the team today!" Inara knelt down to level herself with the desk, looking at Io's jelly-like deflated body. She perked up, seeing Inara who looked elated, yet her body shook like a leaf.

“Oh! That’s so cool! So like, where do you go for the results?” Io sat up, looking at Inara as she bounced back and forth.

“They post a sheet up outside the gym at lunchtime with everybody’s names listed. And hopefully, if I did good enough, I’ll be on there!”

“I’ll go with you once the sheet comes up! Imani!” Io flicked her head backwards to see Imani tapping away on her phone in the back of the class.

“Mhm?” Imani glanced up from her phone with a raised eyebrow.

“Come with me and Inara at lunch to see the track and field team to see if she got in, we can be her cheer squad.” Io did not phrase her words as a question, there was no question, Imani was going to come whether she wanted to or not.

“Yeah I’ll come with.”

“Great! Looks like you have a cheer squad now Inara!” Io balled her hands into fists, beaming up at her friend.

“Well, we don’t even know if I made it on the team yet…”

“Yeah, but I’m confident you will.”

~~

“Imani hurry get up we need to go look at the sign ups.” Io grabbed Imani’s phone and laid it down on the desk.

“I’m getting’ there, alright, let’s head out.”

Io grabbed onto Inara and Imani’s wrist, practically dragging them through the hallways, flying down the stairs and narrowly avoiding unsuspecting students from sudden impact. Io screeched her shoes to a halt, looking at the crowd of people around a pin-up board.

“There right? Where all those people are?”

“Yeah, that list should be the one.”

Io used her height to duck under the elbows of crowding people, squeezing herself into the front of the group. She stuck her finger to the page, tracing it down the line of names.

“I…I…I…Woah!” Io jumped up from her spot, pushing through the crowd and ignoring any upset protests.

“W-what is it? Is it bad?” Inara clutched her hands to her chest, body shaking.

“You made it!”

“I made it?!”

“Yeah! You made it!”

“Waah! I didn’t think I’d make it!

“I’m so proud!”

Io and Inara devolved into just squeals and little jumps, Imani edged herself away from the two, as if denying any kind of affiliation.

“You’ve got your first practice today right?”

“Mhm, I get to meet the coaches and do some basic throws so they can get a better idea of my skill and my weak points.”

“That sounds so cool! Imani we should go!”

“No complaints here.”

~~

“Imani come on! Practice has already started and we don’t want to miss it!”

“Io please, that hurts my arm.” Imani let her body be dragged along the outdoor pathway.

“Yeah but this is important!”

Running down the field side, looking out over the fence.

“Oh! Oh, oh, oh! Imani quickly! Inara is already up!”

Inara did one final stretch of her arms, working her elbows to warm them up before reaching down to the ground to grip her javelin firmly in her hands. Inhaling a deep breath, she shot her long legs out from underneath herself in long powerful strides, winding her arm back to tense her muscles and propel her javelin forward, arcing low and flying forwards above the grass.

“Woah! That was so cool!” Io leaned over the fence, seeing Inara look up at her who waved enthusiastically.

“Damn, how was there ever a doubt in her head about being bad when she has so much talent?” Imani scratched at her head.

“Wait Imani did you hear that?”

“Hear what?”

“I don’t actually know, but it sounded weird.”

…

“Io, I’ve got a bad feeling.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What was that? Should we be running away right now? Is it go time? We can't change out here! Quickly go hide somewhere so we can get ready!
> 
> (I am unsure of the time between this and the next update so just hold tight for me)

**Author's Note:**

> We will get to meet more of the squad next time, if there is a next time, hopefully.


End file.
